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| India-Pakistan | |
| Pakistani Province May Make Quran Law | |
| 2003-06-02 | |
| Oooh! AP's finally picked up on this. The story's only been building since last October... PESHAWAR - A pro-Taliban provincial government passed legislation Monday that will make the area along the border with Afghanistan the first in Pakistan to be run based upon the teachings of the Quran, Islam's holy book. Let the head-chopping commence! The bill, passed unanimously by voice vote in the North West Frontier Province assembly, must still be signed by Gov. Sayed Iftikhar Hussain Shah to become law, but that is considered a formality. ``God is Great! God is Great!'' shouted the governing party He is great, and what he has in mind for you jokers, you don't want to know. Pakistan, a deeply conservative Muslim nation, has nonetheless "Uncle Achmed, does this really mean that I can marry a six-year now?" "Yes, boy, you can marry up to four of them." "Oh wow! I can have a whole herd!" "Yes, boy, you ... wait a minute!" The six-party Islamic coalition of the Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal, or United Action Forum, gained a majority in the North West Frontier Assembly in October elections, on the power of a strong anti-American platform. Bringing Shariah to the This is a good reason why we should be worried: here's a bunch of politicans who actually kept their word. Opposition legislators had tried without success to amend the bill to water down its power, including over women's rights. But with little hope of standing in the way, they ultimately withdrew the amendments and voted in favor. They see which way the wind is blowing for the moment. Pervez Rafiq, a senior official of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, an activist group of Christian, Hindu and Sikh minorities, condemned the vote. He said Sharia has been used in the past to persecute minorities accused of blasphemy against Islam. ``Religion should not interfere with the political affairs of the country,'' he said from Lahore, where the group is based. Start screening your mail, Pervez, hire a food-taster, and don't park next to any automobiles you don't recognize. The bill approved by the assembly binds local courts to interpret provincial law based upon the teachings of Shariah. It also calls for the creation of committees to bring the province's education and financial systems in line with the Quran, requires that Islamic law be taught in law schools, and prohibits the display of firearms. Can't display firearms? I thought that was Islamic to display an entire firing range of arms! The package contains few specifics, but it comes with promises by Islamic hard-liners to ban obscenity and vulgarity, and to set up in a second piece of legislation an ``Accountability Force'' to monitor corruption and fight ``social evil.'' The "Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Protection from Vice." Yep, that's coming. The second bill, which the Islamic coalition says it will present in the coming days, would create a parallel legal system whose decisions could not be challenged by any court. The bill is expected to face fierce resistance in parliament. The federal government can still challenge any measure of the Shariah bill passed Monday that is considered contrary to national laws, which govern the penal system and other federal areas. But the provincial legislature has wide authority to make and change local laws. Federal Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has said the government is studying the legislation to see if any of it conflicts with national laws. Shouldn't take long. Start with paragraph one. Even before passage of the bill, the hard-line government has begun cracking down on what it considers un-Islamic activities. Several movie houses have been shut and the remainder have been forced to paint over posters of women in Western clothes. Earlier this month, authorities banned male coaches from training female athletes in the province and barred men from watching women's sports events. "We can't watch that. They wear that spandex stuff, you can see the outlines of their thighs, and they have these ... these things on their chests! ... oh by Allah, I've got go shoot my gun! In addition, they have called for compulsory reading of the Quran in schools, and passed a resolution that only women doctors should carry out medical tests on female patients.
How'd he do that without his lips falling off? Many of the lawmakers cheered and hugged and congratulated each other. Most of them had beards and wore turbans or white caps, in keeping with Muslim tradition. Yas, a real bunch of | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #2 Context: NWFP gets 12% of American aid to Pigistan. If you are an American taxpayer, blame yourself for subsidizing these savages. |
| Posted by: Anonon 2003-06-02 21:08:40 |
| #1 I just got a great idea for new business "Taliban Consultancy". We have expertise and technical knowledge in wipping old men and women and children too. I'll bet there is going to great demand for such experience. |
| Posted by: rg117 2003-06-02 17:45:22 |